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DATA BROKER DEBATE LEVELS UP — FTC Commissioner Julie Brill has long called for more transparency and choice in the information industry, but her speech last week — and the catchy “Reclaim Your Name” slogan attached to it — stepped things up a notch for what many see as the big consumer privacy issue of the future. The ramp-up comes in large part because her pitch got good play in the media — and that was probably part of the goal, since awareness that the industry even exists is part of what she’s trying to address. “We need to develop an initiative so that there’s a lot more transparency around data brokers,” Brill told MT. “I threw some ideas out, in terms of substantively what needed to happen. There were some new ideas in there in terms of ensuring that the amount of choice and notice that’s given to consumers is more robust the more sensitive the information gets.”

For those not familiar: Brill wants the data broker industry to create a single Web portal that would allow consumers to check and correct information about them that firms have in their marketing databases — and maybe even tell the companies not to use the data in some situations. Defenders of the data broker industry say that transparency is a good thing, but suggest the idea of a one-stop-shop portal isn’t the way to accomplish it. Other ideas haven’t been presented publicly yet.

On an individual basis, some companies have heeded Brill’s call — major data broker Acxiom, for example, announced that it’ll allow consumers to get a fairly detailed look at the profiles it holds on them. But that wouldn’t allow users to opt-out of having their data used for marketing purposes — and it would only allow consumers to look at data held by Acxiom. Even then, that’s only if consumers even knew where to, or even that they could, have a look.

For the Hill’s part, the Senate Commerce Committee is taking its own look into the industry, but there’s no update on where its examination stands or what might come out of it. (Same goes from Ed Markey’s data broker work in the House — er, Senate?) Regardless, it’s fair to expect the conversation, which has been bubbling underneath the surface of the larger privacy debate, to keep getting louder. Even President Obama, speaking to Charlie Rose about NSA surveillance two weeks ago, indicated as much. “What I want to do is to set up and structure a national conversation, not only about these two programs, but also the general problem of data, big data sets, because this is not going to be restricted to government entities,” he said.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where the Allbritton Filibusters have earned a trip to week two of media softball playoffs. Ask Pro Defense’s Leigh Munsil about her walk-off single to beat USA Today. More details, of course, available at abyers@politico.com and @byersalex. Catch the rest of the team’s contact info after speed read, and follow @POLITICOPro.

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WAPO: OFFICIALS CONTRIBUTE TO NSA INACCURACY — On this morning’s front page: “Details that have emerged from the exposure of hundreds of pages of previously classified NSA documents indicate that public assertions about these programs by senior U.S. officials have also often been misleading, erroneous or simply false...U.S. officials have cited a variety of factors to explain the discrepancies, including the challenge of speaking publicly and definitively about programs that remain classified and involve procedures and technical systems that are highly complex....Obama’s assurances have hinged, for example, on a term — targeting — that has a specific meaning for U.S. spy agencies that would elude most ordinary citizens....But even if it is not allowed to target U.S. citizens, the NSA has significant latitude to collect and keep the contents of emails and other communications of U.S. citizens that are swept up as part of the agency’s court-approved monitoring of a target overseas.” http://wapo.st/17xjPlh

— PLUS: NEW PRISM DOCS RELEASED: While you were weekending, four new slides from the PRISM deck were made public, detailing how the PRISM database gets searched, how info from private companies gets analyzed, and the process for getting information on a new target. The info of most interest, perhaps, for those who have closely followed the surveillance developments is the slide that outlines the steps NSA analysts follow to “task” a target. “The request to add a new target is passed automatically to a supervisor who reviews the ‘selectors,’ or search terms. The supervisor must endorse the analyst's ‘reasonable belief,’ defined as 51 percent confidence, that the specified target is a foreign national who is overseas at the time of collection.” Follow the flow chart for more: http://wapo.st/1b0LVrq

NTIA GROUP LOOKS TO TIE UP LOOSE ENDS — There’s just one more meeting on the books (though that could change) for the mobile app transparency group coordinated by the NTIA, and key stakeholders are working through the light July 4 week to get ducks in a row for July 9. Just because the group hasn’t made a lot of noise as of late doesn’t mean things aren’t going on behind the scenes, App Developers Alliance VP and code of conduct author Tim Sparapani tells MT. The group hasn’t met since early June and has been close to producing a final document for the last several weeks, so proponents hope they can close the deal in the near future — and they may actually be getting close. “A growing number of corporations, organizations and trade associations are indicating they are ready to announce support for the document on July 9,” Sparapani said.The success of the group, of course, has an effect on more than just mobile privacy. The Obama administration has been a big backer of multistakeholder efforts, and want to launch another one under NTIA’s purview as soon as this one wraps — so a strong showing from this group would bolster that effort going forward.

ACT UNVEILS NEW INITIATIVE FOR COPPA KICK-OFF — With the FTC’s new kids privacy rules going into effect today, the Association for Competitive Technology is unveiling a new program to denote apps built for kids and with privacy in mind. The initiative, called Moms With Apps, requires participating developers to follow privacy best practices for transparency, regulatory compliance and marketing. As we’ve reported, industry has been scrambling to get on board with the new COPPA rules — and it’s fair to expect privacy and children’s advocates to keep a close eye on potentially infringing companies. For the time being, twenty-one firms are signed up for the ACT program. Details here: http://bit.ly/1b0IPnp

SILICON VALLEY LAWMAKERS WANT TO KEEP PTO POCKETS FILLED — Reps. Mike Honda, Zoe Lofgren and Anna Eshoo dropped their bill on Friday to keep the Patent and Trademark Office free from sequester-related cuts, and that’s no surprise, given that a well-staffed and well-funded patent office is a big boost for companies in California. At the same time, the measure is an interesting development given that the patent office said earlier this year that a sequester hit wouldn’t be a problem for them, since they get revenue from application fees. Indeed, a fall 2012 presentation from a PTO official said that the agency wasn’t worried about a “noticeable operating impact.” Tech circles, though, have expressed concerns about an underfunded patent office in recent months — so the bill may be somewhat of a reaction that, or even a backstop in case patent applications (and accompanying fees) start to decline. We reached out to the patent office and the Commerce Department, but didn’t hear back.

FCC CHAIRWOMAN FLOATS PROPOSAL TO KICK-START OBAMA’S PLAN FOR SCHOOL CONNECTIVITY — Acting commission leader Mignon Clyburn circulated a draft order Friday that outlines steps to help put 100-megabit broadband in 99 percent of schools in the next five years. That proposal, not made public yet, marks the first moves for the FCC on the president’s connectED initiative. It would call, a senior commission official told MT, for the FCC and schools to operate the E-Rate program more efficiently and make it easier for telecom companies to deploy new fiber connections. It would also make it easier for applicants to use program funding to improve connectivity within schools — meaning better Wi-Fi in classrooms. The proposal is expected to get a vote at the July open meeting.

SPEED READ

NO 2012 CORPORATE TAX IN UK FOR APPLE: Cupertino will continue to get global scrutiny on the issue, the Financial Times reports: http://on.ft.com/17xtZ5t

SLOW GROWTH FOR FOREIGN FRUSTRATION ON PRISM: We haven’t seen concrete demands abroad for greater data control in the wake of Snowden leaks, the New York Times reports: http://nyti.ms/19Mt9WE

U.S. GOING AFTER CORPORATE ESPIONAGE: A new law is likely to fuel prosecutions of trade-secret theft, The Wall Street Journal reports: http://on.wsj.com/17xuEUH

IMMIGRATION’S UPHILL HOUSE BATTLE: Few members of either party feel political pressure to make concessions, The Wall Street Journal reports: http://on.wsj.com/17xwm8o

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